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Great Dublin Bike Ride Returns Encouraging Riders to CycleYourCity

Following a sold out event last year, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath / Lord Mayor of Dublin, Mícheál Mac Donncha, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin, TD and Minister of State at the Department of Health, Catherine Byrne, TD today announced the Great Dublin Bike Ride will return on September 24th, bigger than ever before.

The Great Dublin Bike Ride is an initiative from Sport Ireland who work in conjunction with Dublin City Council, Healthy Ireland, Fingal County Council, Cycling Ireland and Meath County Council to create the only cycling event of its kind to happen in Dublin.

On Sunday 24th September 2017, up to 6,000 riders will set out from Smithfield in Dublin to take part in the third Great Dublin Bike Ride. The event offers two unique scenic routes; a 60km route for those looking for a slightly less strenuous day in the saddle and a challenging 100km route for experienced riders. The Great Dublin Bike Ride will be a flagship event in Ireland for the European Week of Sport (23-30 September) and welcomes cyclists of all abilities to take part.

Last year’s event sold out, with 5,000 novice and experienced riders taking part, including over 26 nationalities from around the world. Thirty Two counties in Ireland were represented on the day with participants ranging from 17-73 years old.

All entrants will receive a sporting Great Dublin Bike Ride tech top, medal and goodie bag and registration is now open at www.greatdublinbikeride.ie.

Speaking at the launch of the Great Dublin Bike Ride, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath Mícheál Mac Donncha said “I am delighted to welcome the Great Dublin Bike Ride to the streets Dublin for an amazing third year and congratulate Dublin City Council on its continued involvement and support with this event. The number of people cycling in Dublin city continues to grow year on year and this event is a great opportunity to showcase what Dublin can offer as a cycle friendly city. I encourage cyclists to take part in this great event and enjoy the opportunity to #CycleYourCity through the streets of Dublin. Is deas an deis seo chun rothaíocht a spreagadh sa chathair ar son sláinte an phobail agus córas iompair na cathrach."

Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin, TD, said: “The Great Dublin Bike Ride will see up to 6,000 people take to the streets of Dublin. This is a fantastic opportunity for people to participate in a unique event based on physical activity and community engagement. I would like to wish all of the cyclists and volunteers the very best in what will be the biggest event of its kind to happen in Dublin.”

Minister of State at the Department of Health, Catherine Byrne, said: "Whether you are a complete novice, experienced or commuter cyclist, it is never too late to take on a new challenge, like the Great Dublin Bike Ride. Healthy Ireland are delighted to be part of such an exciting and rewarding event, not just to raise awareness of the benefits of cycling in general but to demonstrate to novice and commuter cyclists alike just how accessible cycling can be."

Chief Executive of Sport Ireland, John Treacy, said, “Sport Ireland is delighted to be supporting the Great Dublin Bike Ride for a third year. Having sold out last year we can firmly see the appetite for cycling is growing in the right direction. We want to encourage novice cyclists to take part and have created a series of training plans and bike maintenance videos that will appear on our social channels to help everyone enjoy the experience safely. I am personally looking forward to taking part on September 24th in the biggest Great Dublin Bike to date.”

Deputy Mayor of Fingal County Council, Adrian Henchy said, “We are very excited to be part of the 3rd Great Dublin Bike Ride and look forward to showcasing the beautiful scenery of Fingal to nearly 6,000 cyclists.”

Speaking at the launch, triple national road race champion and regular member of the Irish National Track Team, Lydia Boylan, said “It’s great to have such a big event like Great Dublin Bike Ride in Dublin, it’s my home town and where I fell in love with cycling. It is an amazing sport, there’s something for everyone to enjoy and the best part is you can be as leisurely or competitive as you like. Although racing is my passion the part that keeps all of us most interested is the people we meet on the road.”

To encourage the promotion of cycling safely through the city, event partners Sport Ireland, Dublin City Council, Healthy Ireland, Cycling Ireland and Fingal County Council are hosting a Great Dublin Bike Ride training day on Sunday 27th of August in the Rowing Centre in Islandbridge.

The training day will start with a talk on preparing for Great Dublin Bike Ride by Aidan Ryan of Sorrento CC. This will be followed by a road spin, which will be broken down into levels of abilities. The training day will be hosted in conjunction with Dublin City Sport & Wellbeing Partnership and is limited to 100 participants. The event is free and caters for all cycling levels taking part in this year’s Great Dublin Bike Ride. Details to register for the day will be announced on Monday 31st of July.